Toilet paper is commonly used to clean the rectum after having a bowel movement. Since this process deals with the handling of human feces, it is easy for an individual's hands to become contaminated from the feces. Failure to properly clean the contaminated hands, such as by washing with soap and hot water, can easily result in the transfer of contamination. This problem is especially important with respect to individuals involved in public service. For example, failure of restaurant employees to clean their hands after going the bathroom can result in contamination of the food being served. Likewise, failure of medical practitioners to properly clean their hands can result in transferring bacteria to patients.
Conventional toilet paper is a dry, loosely woven, fibrous material that easily decomposes in water. This is to help insure that the toilet paper easily flushes in the toilet. Toilet paper is predominately wood fibers and, as such, does not work to disinfect the user's hands. Rather, toilet paper is used to limit contact of the hands with the feces. One problem often encountered with toilet paper is that it can be abrasive to the walls of the rectum. This is especially true for infants who often obtain rashes. The problem is also encountered in adults who can suffer from chafing or the irritation of hemorrhoids. One approach for remedying this problem in infants has been to use pre-moistened tissues. Such tissues typically come in a separate dispenser. The added moisture helps to soften the paper and make it easier to clean the infant.
There are various kinds of dispensers already known which are intended, for example, for use in kitchens, toilets, or hospitals and comprise containers for receiving wrapping paper, toilet or toweling paper. None of these containers is, however, suitable for receiving moistened rolled wipes which is already saturated with a liquid, since it is not closed airtight toward the outside and the liquid would evaporate from the moist roll within the container. Furthermore, these containers are usually neither provided with supporting means which insure that the respective container is held static nor are configured as portable units.
Thus, what is needed is a novel wipes storage/dispensing arrangement that overcomes the above-explained problems in an economic and efficient manner.